Toffee made in Yorkshire on that important day – 5 November

455 grams Demerara sugar or soft brown sugar
190 ml cold water
60 grams unsalted butter
1 level tbsp golden syrup
1 level tbsp black treacle
1 tsp malt vinegar

Lightly butter a square shallow baking tin (or two if you prefer it to be quite thin)

Put all the ingredients into a strong saucepan over a medium heat – while stirring – until the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil, reduce temperature and cook slowly, while stirring.
Drop half a teaspoonful into a cup of cold water, if it is still chewy, continue cooking, if hard – it is fully cooked – while you are testing, remove from the heat.
Pour into the tin/s and allow to cool a little, mark into squares when it has partially set.
Remove from tin and break.

*I like this toffee chewy – so I stop cooking when it is not quite hard when tested. Watch the fillings.

Just a note of caution – protect your hands and arms when making toffee – this is not a recipe for children to prepare!

1 x 250 to 300 gram floury potato per person (King Edward or Maris Piper)
Olive oil and sea salt flakes
55 grams unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
Rarebit – for 2 to 3 people
90 grams mature Welsh farmhouse cheese or mature white Cheddar
75 ml Welsh stout or ale – warmed
12.5 grams unsalted butter
12.5 grams plain white flour
1/4 teaspoon mild mustard – ready prepared not powder (I use Dijon wholegrain)
1 large egg yolk, lightly whisked

Preheat oven to 180ºC

Wash the potatoes under cold running water, pat dry with kitchen paper towel then allow to dry at room temperature before baking.
Prick the skin several times with a fork or fine skewer.
Rub the skin with a little olive oil then sprinkle with sea salt.
Put them onto the middle shelf, bake for between up to 60 minutes.

Rarebit

Put the cheese and warmed ale into a saucepan, warm gently over a low heat, while stirring, until smooth then mix the flour and butter together, stir into the cheese mixture.
Bring to the boil while stirring constantly, reduce heat to low and cook for two minutes.
Remove from the hob, stir in the mustard and season to taste, allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Whisk in the egg yolk.
When the potatoes are ready, halve the potatoes and scoop out the flesh leaving an half centimetre layer.
Mash the potatoes with butter, lightly season and return to the skins.
Top with the rarebit, return to the oven for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Just an idea for either Halloween or Guy Fawkes night for the children – young and not so young. Make either square – same shape as the puffs (or round). For a quick treat – buy frozen mini meatballs and ready made sauce plus ready rolled puff pastry.

Mini Turkey Burgers or Meatballs
900 grams fresh turkey mince
20 grams fresh breadcrumbs – either wholemeal or white
1 French shallot, peeled and finely diced
1 small egg white, lightly beaten
1 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
1/2 small garlic clove – peeled and puréed
Pinch fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sauce
Either buy ready made, or make your own using your favourite recipe.
Method
Put all the ingredients into a bowl.
Mix until thoroughly combined, either using the hands or tines of a fork.
Shape into 32 mini burgers or meatballs.
Fry in olive oil over a medium-low until lightly browned on both sides.
Pour the tomato sauce into a large frying pan, add the burgers in one single layer, place over a gently heat, cover with a lid, simmer gently until the meatballs are cooked through.
Either put into a very low oven to keep warm, or turn the heat down to its lowest setting while you make the puffs.
While the meatballs are cooking, make the puffs.

Puffs
2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry – about 490 grams
32 turkey mini burgers
180 ml prepared sauce – or use basil pesto (green or white)
Italian Asiago d’allevo cheese, grated (Pecorino or Parmesan if not available)
Heat the oven to 200°F
Lay each pastry sheet onto a lightly floured work surface, cut each into 16 x 2.5 inches or 6.25 cm squares.
Transfer to 2 prepared baking sheets (lined with greaseproof paper).
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven or until puffed and light golden brown.
Allow to cool. for 5 minutes on the sheets then split each pastry into two layers, keeping the two halves together.
Spread one tablespoon of your favourite pasta sauce onto the bottom of each pastry.
Top with 1 mini burger and any other toppings of your choice – thin onion rings, rocket, pickles.
Top with cheese and replace the top onto each pastry.

If you do not fancy the Italian cheese, try replacing with English Cheddar, Wensleydale or Lancashire.

Mum made these for me when I was young, usually at our bonfire night party – I loved them then and admit to loving them just as much today even though they were regarded as a child´s bun or small cake. This is one recipe I have not felt the need to revise. Traditional and wonderful.

1 large fresh egg and its weight (in the shell) in:-
- self raising flour
- unrefined caster sugar
- unsalted butter or margarine (or a mixture)
- pinch fine salt
Decoration
- 2 tbsp good quality apricot jam
- desiccated coconut
- 3 natural glacé cherries
- Angelica leaves

Method:-
Grease 5 or 6 castle pudding tins
Preheat oven to 380ºF
Prepare by creaming method (cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, beat in the egg with 1 tablespoon flour, sift in remaining flour and salt, gently fold in)
Half fill each tin with the mixture
Bake for 20 minutes on the middle shelf of the preheated oven – or until well risen and firm when lightly pressed with the little finger
Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tins, remove and put onto a wire rack until cold

While the Madelines are cooling – warm two tablespoons of apricot jam, sieve
Place the coconut into a wide shallow bowl
When cold, trim off the rounded part (the risen rounded part at the top)
Brush the jam over the top and sides
Roll in the coconut, top with half a natural glacé cherry or a leaf of angelica

A typical traditional parkin eaten – in the area where I was born and raised – on Bonfire Night

5 oz unsalted butter
2½ oz treacle
2½ oz golden syrup
2 tbsp whole milk
4 oz soft dark brown sugar
½ lb plain flour
1 level tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ lb ground oatmeal or porridge oats
1 large free-range egg
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda dissolved in 2 tablespoons of warm milk

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 2 or 150 degrees Celsius
Lightly oil a 2” deep baking tin (about 11” x 9”) line bottom and sides with greaseproof paper (do not use a loose bottomed tin as the mixture is runny)

Put the butter, treacle, golden syrup and milk into a saucepan over low heat, stir in the sugar. Continue stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the ingredients have fully blended, heat gently – do not boil

Sift the flour, ground ginger and cinnamon into a bowl. Add oatmeal or porridge oats and mix

Stir the blended syrup mixture and beaten egg into the dry ingredients. Dissolve the Bicarbonate of Soda in 2 tablespoons of warm milk (about blood heat – pleasant to the touch) and add to bowl, mix well

If consistency if too thick, add a little warmed milk –consistency should be like a thick batter and pour into the tin easily

Pour into baking tin and place immediately into the centre of a warm oven for between 75 and 90 minutes

When cool, cut into squares and store in an airtight tin. Keeps well – best kept for a couple of days before eating